Undergarment.



R. W. MGEWAN.

UNDERGARMENT.

APPLICATION FILED APR.29, 1914.

LKW WWQ. Patented. Feb. 16, 1915.

@TATEd RICHARD W. MQEWAN, 0F WHIPIEANY, NEW' JERSEY.

UNDERGARMENT.

nieatoa Specification of Letters Patent. Patented lF-aelo, 1E, 19115,,

Application filed April 29, 1914. Serial No. 835,078.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RICHARD W. Mo- ]EWAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of .Whippany, county of Morris, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Undergarments, of which the following is a' specification.

My invention relates to undergarments and has for its object to provide a cotton, woolen or other knitted or woven undergarment with a friction reducing element or medium located at the knee portion of the drawers and also in some cases at the calf portion thereof whereby the friction between the drawers and the trousers or adjacent portions of the legs ofthe wearer is reduced to a minimum and the trousers are prevented from sticking to the drawers when the wearer assumes a sitting position or otherwise flexes the leg at the knee and. the drawers comfortably adjust themselves to such changes in the wearers position.

lit is well known that with ordinary woolen, cotton or other knit or woven undergarments a considerable frictional engagement exists between the underdrawers and the trousers particularly at the knee and the calf of the leg and that consequently, the material of which the trousers are made is constantly subjected to objectionable stretch ing strains which distort the shape of said trousers and materially reduce their period of usefulness. Attempts have heretofore been made to overcome these objectionable features by securing sheets or patches of material upon the surface of the garment at the knee portions thereof. Such arrangements however render the garment bulky at these points and provide ridges above the surface thereof which increase rather than reduce friction and which materially interfere with the putting on and takingofi. of the garment.

The particular object of my invention is to overcome all of the above objections and to provide a comfortable undergarment without rendering the cost thereof prohibitive and without sacrificing any of the well known advantages of a woven or knit woolen, cotton or similar under-garment.

My improvement will be fully described hereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, which by way of example illustrates a front view of a pair of drawers with my mprovement included therein, the illustration being more or less diagrammatic.

In the drawing, A represents the drawers having legs B, and C and v C represent the element or medium located respectively at the knee and calf portions of the garment for reducing the friction between the drawers and the trousers to a minimum as relative movement between the two takes place when the wearer assumes various different positions. The said element may be directly knitted or woven into the garment at the proper places during manufacture and in some cases may be a tubular piece or insert extending completely around each ,leg, or in other instances the element may be a plece of woven, knitted, silk, satin or other fabric of suitable dimensions and having a smooth or sleek surface, said pieces being in the nature of inserts properly and suitably fastened in said drawers so as to be substantially flush with the surfaces thereof. The essential requirement in garments of the type under consideration is the provision of smooth, sleek, or other frictionless surfaces at'the knee or ca'lf of the drawers or at both places, the said surfaces in some cases being merely exterior surfaces at the indicated points and in other cases being both exterior and interior surfaces and at all times being substantially flush with the adjacent portions of the garment. The said element, no matter in what manner the same is combined with the garment, may be dia mond shaped as shown in the drawing or it may be of any other desired conformation most suitable for each particular instance or most desired by the particular wearer. With such constructions the continuity of the surfaces of the garment is maintained and a complete absence of friction between the drawers and the trousers particularly at the knees and at the calves, is secured, without sacrificing any of the warmth and other comforts or advantages of a complete knitted, or woven cotton,

woolen or other undergarment. This is accomplished by making the garment or at least the major portion thereof of woven or knitted wool, cotton or other material and providing the friction reducing element only at those points where it'is most generally required and makes it possible to produce an undergarment having a maximum of serviceability and comfort at a minimum cost. It will readily be apparent that as the wearer assumes a sitting position or flexes the leg during other movements of the body that the trousers will readily,

slide over the element 0 or C with a minimum of friction so that stretching strains are removed and the. trousers consequently donot bag at the knees and are not otherwise distorted d thus retain their shape for an increase period so that the life and usefulness thereof is thus prolonged. As stated above it may sometimes be desirable to provide an interior as well as an exterior frictionless surface, the former contracting with the skin of the wearer and permitting the underdrawers to adjust themselves relatively to the skin of the wearer with a minimum degree of friction and with a consequent minimum-strain on the fabric and a maximum degree of comfort to the wearer.

In cases where both interior and exterior surfaces are provided, forinstance by means of a material napped to'a greater or lesser degree such as satin,the nap on the outer surface s arranged to lie in one direction while the nap on the inner surface lies in It will of course the opposite direction. be understood that the lay of the nap will in each instance he in a direction to present the least resistance to a relative adjustment of the garment.

My invention is equally well adapted for either two piece or union undergarments and with drawers of any length from full length to knee length.

Various changes in the specific form shown and described may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim;

1. An undergarment provided at predetermined portions thereof with sections of relatively antifriction material substantially flush with the adjacent portions of the garment.

2. An undergarment provided at the knee portions with inserts of relatively smooth antifriction material such as silk or similar fabric, said insertsbeing substantially flush with. the adjacent portions of the garment.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD W. MCEWAN.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. KEELENBECK, FRED A. KLEIN. 

